Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Case Study

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Eddie’s symptoms include wrist pain, pain in the palm of the hand and thumb and the first three fingers. Numbness, tingling and shooting pain, especially at night. According to the symptoms, Eddie has carpal tunnel syndrome. This is a disorder where the median nerve, one of the main nerves in the hand, is under compression. It provides sensation to the palm of the hand and fingers and allows us to move the muscles in our hand and carry out various functions such as grabbing things. In this disorder, night time symptoms are common because a lot of people sleep with their wrists bent which makes the symptoms worse and causes severe pain. Also, when he plays the piano for an extended period of times, he is constantly flexing and extending his …show more content…

- Continuous and prolonged flexing of the wrist and hand can put a lot of pressure on the median nerve by causing swelling in the flexor tendons in the hand
- Repetitive motion of the hand: flexing and extending the wrist constantly will significantly increase the fluid pressure in the synovium
- Genetics: some people may be born with a narrower carpal tunnel thus making them more susceptible to this disorder
- Changes in body fluids: during pregnancy and menopause, the fluid retention in the body increases which may result in compression of the median nerve, resulting in carpal tunnel syndrome
- Injury: wrist fractures, sprains and dislocations may also put pressure on the median nerve
- Arthritis and other inflammatory conditions such as tendonitis: these lead to the swelling of the flexor tendons which causes the carpal tunnel to become narrower
- Chronic illnesses: diabetes, obesity
- Hormonal conditions: pregnancy and menopause
- Hyperthyroidism: this causes deposition of mucopolysaccharides within the perineurium of the median nerve and tendons in the tunnel
- Double-crush syndrome: the nerves of the arms are pressured by conditions at more than one area of the body
- Tumors: these may occur within the carpal tunnel or protrude into the tunnel taking up

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